Running
by Bright.Eyes93
Summary: In which Kayo gets caught up in the Medicine Sellers world once again!
1. Running

**(A/N) **Hey future readers! It's 93 posting her first ever story *People cheering* Yes, I finally got motivated enough to enter my work on FF and on LJ. This will not be a one-shot, but the entrees will be short (this one is about 400 words). I hope you enjoy!  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: Mononoke is not mine, nor are its characters. I only did this for enjoyment and am getting no profit from it.

They were running; dear Kami were they running. Kayo's lungs burned and her legs felt like they were going to fall off. She slowed slightly pulling at the hand encasing her wrist (_because __**he**__ just didn't seem like the hand-holding type._) Kayo hadn't run like this since she had broken a shopkeeper's expensive vase. It wasn't her fault (_it really wasn't; who put a vase on a tiny and unsteady stand anyways?)_Still the authorities had chased her until sundown and had finally given up (_She had hid in a tall tree and amused herself by watching them run back and forth while eating a peach that she had relieved from the shopkeepers possession.) _Kayo justified stealing the peach by reminding herself how rude the shopkeeper had been.

The flashback faded as blue eyes slid back to meet her brown ones and Kayo swore she saw slight irritation in them before they faded to his usual _look._ A small spark of anger lit up inside her, the emotion bringing color up to her cheeks, and she was about to tell him off - (_it was a really good comeback too, something along the lines of 'Well not all of us possess your inhuman power of speed' followed by her sticking her tongue out_) But right as she opened her mouth a blood curdling roar echoed through the trees, rattling Kayo to her very core. And then she remembered they were _**running **_and this time it wasn't an angry shopkeeper or guards chasing her, it was a _**mononoke. **_It wasn't a simple fee she was facing, it was losing her _**life.**_

With that in mind, her hand turned and grasped his wrists, sliding down until it met his painted hand, and Kayo laced her fingers with his as she picked up speed with renewed energy. Her action was done unconsciously and without a second thought, but not without _**notice**_. Soon she was almost ahead of the Kusuriuri and if she wasn't in a life and death situation she would have laughed at how the roles reversed. As she tugged him along the barely made path, she tried to remember a safe place to hide from the _demon_ that was currently trying to _kill_ them.

As focused as she was on this, she missed the slight widening of his eyes and the barely there sly grin that played along his lips.

**(A/N)** So how was it? Review and tell me! I'll post more chapters if people want me to continue :)


	2. Unfair

**(A/N)** So here, faithful readers is the second part of Running. I hope you like it :) If you find any boo-boo's tell me so I can fix them. I uploaded this early because I'm leaving for Australia soon and will not be able to post anything more for about 3 weeks. So without further adieu, please enjoy!

It was really unfair. Totally, completely, and a hundred percent, _**unfair**_. Kayo drew in another ragged breath feeling it rip open her air passage and burn down into her chest. She stumbled; her gait hindered by the rocks and roots that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. The mononoke still gave chase (_she could hear it snapping down trees and shaking the ground in its anger_) She stole at look at the male beside her as she inhaled for air. The Medicine Seller didn't even look fazed; his breathing was perfect (_which wasn't the only perfect thing about him, but now wasn't the time for her to start reviewing her list_). He didn't run- he _**glided**_ across the ground. Kayo bet the rocks and tree roots moved out of the way for him seeing as he hadn't had a misplaced step since they started running. Everything about him flowed with ease (_even his side bangs and odd trinkets in his hair stayed in place as if they were glued_). Kayo stumbled once again and felt something on her head loosen, _**shift,**_and a second later a lock of her hair fell, sticking to her sweaty forehead (_Kayo swore something fierce in her head_). **Really**. _**Unfair.**_

The Medicine Seller suddenly jumped with inhuman grace (_that left Kayo open mouthed in awe_) over a ledge and landed in a crouch before running again. The momentum from the jump had put him a good three feet ahead of Kayo and she gulped down air as she tried to regain her position by his side (_some cynical voice in her head pointed out the symbolism, but Kayo ignored it like the others_). How could he run that fast? The painted eye on his medicine box mockingly stared at her, tracking her progress and watching her fail. (_The __**bastard**__, he didn't even have the consideration to look even a bit flustered_).

"Kayo-San" A cool voice broke through her angry thoughts and Kayo jerked her head up and towards him. His voice (_and ye gods- the __**things **__it could do to a girl_) made everything stop. Sound, light, the mononoke currently trying to _**kill **_them, everything was suspended when he opened his mouth-

"You're falling behind _**again.**_" Kayo ground her teeth and chose not to say anything in favor of saving her breath to try and catch up (_Which does not mean that she didn't plan on giving him a lesson in manners if they ever got out of this alive_). He could at least have given her the decency to actually look behind him before commenting on her failing speed. Everything was just really, mind-blowingly, heart stopping, _**unfair.**_

**(A/N)** reviews will make me happy :) *hint, hint*


	3. Holding on

She didn't see him move; he just suddenly appeared beside her. His hands reaching, grabbing, **_lifting_** her up from the current path. He swept her off her feet and into his arms, cradled close to his chest as a distant crash was heard. Kayo allowed herself a moment (really it was _scarcely_ a second she assured herself) to feel the zing of warmth, and the comfort of his touch before she reacted.

"Wha-Just who do you think you are?" (and no, there was **_not_** a tremor in her voice thank you very much-)

"L-let me go!" She thrashed and wiggled, trying to get down from his arms (and she was surprised that the force of her **_hand_** in his **_face_** as she tried to push herself free didn't break his neck). Kayo struggled (and not just to get out of his arms, Kami what she would**_ give_** to just let herself relax and be held by him-) because she **_cannot_ **let him see, she **_would_**_ **not**_ give away how much his touch affected her.

"Kayo-San" The Medicine Seller let his exasperation seep into her name as she finally got herself free.

"No, don't ''Kayo-San'' me" Kayo stated and pointed a finger for emphasis. Her attitude deflated as she saw a bolder about as tall as her waist, wedged in the middle of two trees' that it crashed into. She realized that if he hadn't picked her up and moved her out of the way, she would have been crushed. Kayo looked at him for a moment, speechless (a rarity in itself) and shocked that he had just saved her life. The Medicine Seller stared straight back at her, unblinking, unfazed, and (dare she say) uncaring that he had intervened (it was his hand erasing death from her fate time and time again) and **_saved_**-

A distant rumble was heard and her attention shifted to the top of the hill they had just run down and the rocky avalanche that was tearing everything down in its path-(this time Kayo heard herself swear out loud and missed the way the Medicine Sellers eye's seemed to sharpen and the jagged grin that _stretched_ itself on his lips)

"Interesting" He said still looking at the avalanche heading their way. The way he said it was so calm and dry that he might have been commenting on a certain cloud pattern. Kayo whipped her eyes back to him (deciding in her head that screeching 'Interesting' back at him would get her nowhere) and asked-

"Now what?" To Kayo, it always sounded like she was saying this to him, (some part of her waited for the day where he didn't know so she could prove that he was at least somewhat human, but then again, the world would probably implode-) He focused his eye's on her and Kayo's breath caught when she saw something **_harden_** and **_gleam-_**

"Now" He rumbled "We run" and with that he extended his arms and waited for Kayo to move closer to him before scooping her up in his arms again.

"Wait a minute! Do you even know where we are going?" She demanded, trying to regain some type of composer (and ignore the cherry red blush that was heating her cheeks, throat, and ears). He didn't respond and she supposed he was too busy dodging flying debris as the avalanche drew closer. However his direction never changed, he charged right towards one of the many ledge's on the mountain.

"H-hold on! You're headed toward a dead end" Kayo sputtered. (and somewhere inside her she had a **_sinking_** feeling, an inkling of what he was going to do and it made Kayo bunch her hands in his clothing)

The only answer she got was a single raised eyebrow and his usual _look_ that made something inside of her want to protest and _prove_ herself.

"Sweet Kami" She heard herself saying in reply. The grin that he gave her was all teeth and it made her stomach clench.

Kayo closed her eyes and tucked her head in under his chin. If she couldn't bring herself to trust this person who had saved her life multiple times- (and her brain registered the **_exact_** moment when his legs coiled and he pushed-and then they were suspended in the air, hanging there for a precious moment, as rubble crashed straight down off the edge, and then they were falling, _falling_, **_falling_**-)

In the end, when it all came down to it- If she couldn't trust him, who could she?

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><p><strong>(An) I hope you all enjoyed it so far! on a side note, does anyone know/recommend a good beta? Or how to correctly space the document once uploaded to Doc Manager? (As you can see, mine is giving me a hard time)**


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